Medical resource use and costs among rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy

Objective. To identify costs among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients recei ving alternative disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapies. Methods. Using managed care organization data, we identified members who (a ) were prescribed any DMARD therapy for two consecutive months between July 1993 and February 1998, (b) were aged greater than or equal to 18 years, ( c) had greater than or equal to6 months of DMARD-free enrollment prior to t he first DMARD, and (d) had a diagnosis of RA. Results. The average age of the cohort (n = 571) wets 51 years, and 70% wer e women. Mean duration of enrollment following initiation of DMARD therapy (observation period) was 19.5 months; 28.8% of patients switched DMARD regi mens. The average monthly cost of care was $853, of which $294 (34%) was fo r RA-coded medical services. Monthly RA-coded costs varied by DMARD: hydrox ychloroquine $227 (n = 252), methotrexate $340 (n = 185); sulfasalazine $23 3 (n = 49), and other mono/combination therapy $425 (n = 85) (P = 0.001). Conclusion. Costs of RA-coded care in patients receiving DMARDs are low and vary by DMARD.